Wealth of wildlife found in bog – and now also in blog

SCOTTISH Natural Heritage has set up a "blog on a bog" – to record the teeming wildlife and changing seasons in one of the UK's biggest bogs.

Flanders Moss National Nature Reserve, in rural Stirlingshire is described in the blog as "the Serengeti, in central Scotland".

The reserve, which lies between Kippen and Thornhill, is the largest area of intact unaltered bog in the UK, and is home to many rare species.

The blog was set up by Scottish Natural Heritage to describe the area's remarkable flora and fauna, and is being written by the reserve manager, Dave Pickett.

Mr Pickett said there was an "intricate web of wildlife" in the bog,

and in one recent blog, he wrote: "The first sign of life I see is a fresh gizzard lying on a hummock, the remains of a bird caught and eaten by a sparrowhawk or maybe a hen harrier or red kite… But the treat of the day is a red kite that suddenly appears overhead.

"Maybe it came along to see if any prey had been disturbed by the deer herd moving across the moss. Our own version of vultures, wildebeests and the Serengeti here in central Scotland."

Mr Picket said: "We want to let people know how much there is to see at Flanders Moss – something changes every week, and even every day."